The Rose and Snowstorm- Rewrite
by HypnosisFreak
Summary: Wandering alone for years resulted in the feeling of disconnection towards the world, as the girl who had long since been considered a beast met the biggest snowstorm of her life; as it throws a pair of mismatches into a heap of confusion. They manage to meet eye to eye as they help each other progress in going against what is their destiny. :Faunus Ruby: :Half faunus breed Yang:
1. A request to stay?

Lights flickered rhythmically around the up-fronts of large buildings that loomed defensively over the crowd streets and sidewalks of the small area's vicinity; offering a chilly breeze that would graze past the various types of citizens carrying out their own separate lives as they trudged intently through the light cover ground of snow. The air itself had been long since became muffled by the resonating sounds of winds abruptly blowing through the occasional leaves of trees that were cordially planted throughout the city, carrying the whispers of the others from the other town as holograms flickered consistently to offer light and direction.

The city itself had been truly everything but busy on a typical day, but as the new years approached, loved ones had been scurrying about the darkest crevices of their small community in searches of gifts for those close. It had been a very loving community, to say the least despite their advancements in their technology from other cities or even countries. It was, all in all. The place to be, so told.

The scent of roses quickly wafted into the air as another violent gust of wind blew through the crowds, causing a few citizens to shudder before bundling up more into their coats as the wind began dwindling out into nothing but silence again as a small figure began to materialize slowly into view, perched up decently high on one of the dust advertisements that hovered up in the air above the crowds. The figure silently began crouching down with their knees until their body was low enough for their nails to be able to deeply dig into the wood of the structure to ensure that there would be no possible incidents of falling; since the last thing they had desired was to end up on the news.

Dull gray eyes attentively began surveying the surrounding area as the once shadow covered streets began to lighten up as the clouds drifted steadily through the sky until they revealed the luminous full moon that grazed over the figure's body until the crimson color of a tattered cape dangled off the edge of the billboard was shown. A visible puff of air dispersed into the cold breeze as an exhausted and ragged sigh forced its way past the cloaked figure's lips upon the realization that the night was terribly crowded. The figure allowed their pale hand to lift up from the billboard hesitantly and grab loosely at the back of their hood until it dropped back off of their head and revealed the long disheveled black and red tresses cascading down the figure's back until it disappeared underneath the cloak.

Small locks of the girl's hair shifted around until a pair of charcoal colored wolf ears lifted out of the long black tresses to perk up high from their previous constricting position. The cold air pushed all warmth out of the thin cartilage which then caused the ears to twitch and flatten back against her hair as the girl grabbed her cloak and nestled herself deeper into the warmth of the fabric so her ears could regain their previous comfort. "I was hoping that the rumors of this place being nice and quiet were true, but from the looks of it, it doesn't even seem that interesting. It's a very sad town for the trouble it gave me getting here in the winter time.." Another tedious sigh quickly forced it's way past the lips of the girl as nothing but silence and the muffled chatters of the citizens passing by beneath her filled the atmosphere as she finished mumbling the last few words of her distaste towards the general area. Only to be shortly after replaced by the momentary look of dejection in her eyes as they followed various people smiling and laughing with those close to them as if it was a typical day when truth be told. It had always been just another winter's season. **  
**

"But, I honestly shouldn't even be making any kinds of assumptions about this place when I only recently got here and explored so little. Who knows, maybe you pack more to offer than you look, Vale." An apathetic smile slowly began forming on the corner of her lips as both of her hands strayed away from the hood of her cloak and back to the front of her knees to help her body gradually stand up straight on the Billboard, only stopping to shudder when another gust of wind flew past her body and caused a few strands of hair to flop limply in front of her face. "Haah.. Capes, they do save the heroes from the sidelines time, and they're definitely stylish. I'd like to think of it as a plus, even if it is and old cape. But now, I've uhm, I've just gotta check into this place called Dust replenish to stock up on ammo before exploring and heading back out towards the next AirStation. Although I seriously hope I gathered up enough lien from the town over, and I should also probably hope that they don't mind me carrying around my weapon because I'd hate to leave it out in the snow like last time."

The faunus quickly clapped her hands together in a silent moment to begin praying to the creator of the world she lived in for the mention of her last experience back in Mistral for leaving her weapon outside the shop immediately elicited a strong shudder down her spine as she intently furrowed her eyebrows. It had all brought back the old feelings of the day when she experienced beginning licked in the nose and sniffed my various dogs as she had to tie her weapon to the poles designated for restraining shoppers animals. "Please don't let it happen again dear Monty. I promise not to theft candy anymore." She quietly feigned a couple of sniffles before beginning to shift onto the ball of her left foot as she quickly raised her right foot higher up than the height of her knee so that she could move it over the the edge of the billboard, steadily beginning to shift more weight to her right foot until she had successfully lost her balance on the small flat surface and began to fall forward slowly until her entire body was spiraling down to the ground at a quick speed as the sound of her laughter resonated throughout the air.

It had always been a bliss for the faunus to parkour around higher places of cities that she had made her occasional pit stops to as she grew up, since and no matter how dull the moments could be, the feeling of her aura surging through every cell of her body until it began to encase her entire body in the crimson color of red. It was as if her first memories of unlocking her potential was being replayed all over again as she twisted her torso to stabilize her posture so that as she successfully made it down to the ground, she came to a firm landing on her feet as her cape that had grown twice as large as it once was deteriorated into nothing but roses until it was it's normal size again. A quirky grin her the faunus's lips as she glanced around at her surrounding to check to see if anyone had seen anything **  
**

"Heh, and they always say that wolves can't land on their feet either.. I'd like to prove them all wrong someday once I completely master it." A noticeable quirky grin began forming on the faunus's lips as her gray eyes scrutinized her surrounding area to ensure that nobody had witnessed her jumping down from the billboard before she chuckled to herself as both of her hands raised up to the back of her head to grab the tattered fabric of the hood and pull it back over her head as she began trudging along the sidewalk, whistling a quiet tune of folklore.

 **That with blood on my teeth..**

 **It is far beyond dry..**

 **and I've captured you once..**

 **But I wasn't quite right; so I'm telling you that you'll be safe with me.  
**

As the faunus contentedly hummed the song she had been sung to as a child, her gray eyes that had been attentively surveying the surrounding area for anything interesting, slowly locked onto a group of men dressed in black and red uniforms emerging had almost immediately wafted over towards her direction as she flared her nostrils in distaste for the scent of iron and dust powder, resulting in her slowing down her pace citizens continued to walk past her, completely unaware of the threat that the men posed. "Oh boy, seems like someone's been a bit busy.." She grumbled tensely as her hands strayed down to the side of her pants to push down her hands into the pocket as she watched the group of men enter the shop she intended to go to.

"It doesn't even take a fool to see this might not end well.. But I do need to really restock up on dust, and I swear, people like them are getting more risky and daring every town over." The faunus grimaced in dejection as she approached the shop called Dust replenish where the men enter before pinning down her ears hard to ensure that nobody could see her faunus features as she eventual came to a stand still in front of the single door that had been decorated in lights to welcome costumers. "You can only hope for the best I've been told.. But, I doubt that's the case for this." **  
**

* * *

**An Hour later**

* * *

The wolf faunus sat in a chair at a table in front of her that had a small lamp in the middle. However, the wolf faunus was nervously looking around the dim lit room that the mysterious bitter woman had led her to and left her in. "Erm.." Suddenly the pair of ears perk up underneath the hood at the sound of the door being opened, and the wolf faunus instantly sits up attentively.

As the door paves the light outside the room shines in and causes the wolf faunus to wince since the lamp only had been providing her a little source of light, so when the brightness of the lights outside the door flooded in the room, the wolf faunus turned her head away. The door is heard shutting again, and the wolf faunus slowly looks back over to the door to see a man with silver hair walking over to the table with the same woman that had blonde hair following behind him.

"Hello there Miss, how are you doing this lovely night?" The silver haired man asks while he walked over to the chair in front of the table and pulled it out before he took a seat and sipped his. She sniffed the air slightly and cringed at the awful stench of coffee.

"O-Oh! Um! I'm doing fine, and tonight has been a pretty n-nice night.. Well, aside from the mugging thing though, it really wasn't part of my plan to be mugged and assaulted in one night." The wolf faunus shifted in the seat uncomfortably since the man's observing eyes were directed at her. The wolf faunus honestly hadn't planned them to pull out guns in the shop; she actually had been hoping she was exaggerating.

"Yes, I can see why you said that. However, sometimes things never seem to go correctly to plan." He chuckles quietly while the other person was glaring at Ruby, but after he said that, the blonde haired woman finally spoke up.

"If it wasn't a part of your plans, why did you continue after that man when you could have just walked away like a normal person? Yet instead you ruined a dust shop and intervened with a huntress, what do you have to say for yourself?" The woman slapped her riding crop on the table to make the wolf faunus listen, but all it made the wolf faunus actually do was recoil and scoot her chair further away from the table.

"I-I'm sorry! I know I should have stayed put and not chased after him, but there was a possibility that I could have caught and stop the man, so I took it! I apologized already for getting in your way! I didn't really know you were a huntress!" The wolf faunus stammers out nervously while she felt her ears lowering in fear of the two people in front of her.

"Now now Glynda! None of that, we aren't here to scare her." The man holds his right arm out and pushes Glynda away from the table and wolf faunus before turning his attention back to the nervous wolf faunus and offered a smile. "I'm sorry about this, Miss..?" He says slowly as if hinting for her to give him her name.

"I-It's Ruby. Ruby Rose." Ruby notices the man's eyes widening at this, and she chuckles slightly at his reaction since he didn't really look like the person who should have been making faces like that.

"Ah.." He coughs a few times before pushing the small glasses up his nose a little more and took another sip of the awful coffee. "Well, Miss Rose, I am Opzin. The headmaster of Beacon Academy, the school for training young people and," Opzin clearly stops at the word before slowly continuing, "and faunus to fight Grimm. Which, might I ask Miss Rose, why are you still keeping a hood on while we are in the building? Hmm?" Suddenly, Ruby freezes and she coughs at the unexpected question.

"I-I just feel like it. Is that wrong?" She questions Opzin.

"No, not at all Miss Rose. It's just your tail has seemed to disagree with you and found its way from underneath your cloak, and it looks quite uncomfortable to have the fabric rubbing against your ears over and over hmm.. I hear after a certain amount of time of having fabric rub against a part of you it can get quite unbearable, yes?" Ruby laughs and waves her hand

"Psh, that's no-" Suddenly she stops and looks over to see the charcoal tail with little strips of red swaying calmly around, half of it dangling off the chair. Ruby stares at her tail, processing that it was in fact out from underneath the cloak. "Eek!" She squeaks as she heard the headmaster coughing a few times before she quickly shoos her tail back under the cloak in embarrassment.

"Miss Rose, there is no need to hide your faunus heritage here." Opzin shakes his head at the blushing wolf faunus who was slowly nodding.

"Sorry.. I just, y'know, some people aren't okay with faunu-. Wait how did you know I had ears though?" Ruby timidly says, but still doesn't take the hood off since she still didn't feel comfortable showing off her faunus features since it wasn't the issue of her being a faunus usually, but instead it was for a different issue completely. Ruby, however, didn't even know why the issue was separate from just being hated for her animal features, or why it was an issue in general.

"Well, if you look long enough, you can clearly see them twitching around, but it's understandable, however, I'd like to discuss a few things with you, Miss Rose. Along with questions if that's alright with you." Opzin watches Ruby meekly nod her head before he continues. "Beacon Academy is a representative to Vale, did you know that Miss Rose?" Ruby shakes her head promptly. "Everyone knows Beacon is Vale's main well, attraction. I'm not saying random people could simply ride an airship over to Beacon. However, most people know Vale for Beacon."

Ruby didn't exactly know where Opzin was going with this, but she listened intently to Opzin's story, even while feeling a bit awkward with the woman apparently named Glynda staring at her still. "So Beacon has some surveillance over Vale since as hunters and huntresses we are here to serve Vale and help them. However, before I sent Glynda over to solve the robbing, I saw how you handled those men." Opzin finally set his mug down and clasped his hands together before he leaned forward on the table.

"Where on Remnant did such a young faunus as yourself learn such moves? Surely you must have learned those in Signal since it is the only training school in the area." Ruby shakes her head again before she finally spoke up.

'A-Actually... I-I've never heard of this school called Signal? And I-I'm actually not in school. I learned those moves from my caretaker and a few from other people along with training myself, my knowledge on combat goes really far actually! I'm good at close range combat too; I once had to use a dagger for protection because I sorta encountered a bull moose and it got really aggressive towards me.." Ruby chuckled nervously while nodding since she always felt extremely proud of her fighting skills.

"I see.." Opzin didn't know how to feel about what Ruby had said but continued anyway. "Well, it was quite admirable, those moves you did; nowadays such skills in youth are not common to our community.. And I was thinking, it would be a shame to just pass such skills and leave it. I'll admit you were a bit reckless, however, with the training my school provides, we could fix that in a month or two."

"Wait. Wouldn't that mean I'd have to be in your school to do the training? Are you um..Are you asking me to go to your school to train?" Ruby asks perturbed.

"I am. " He bluntly says.

"I-I'm flattered mister! I really am, but I wasn't really planning to stay in Vale for too long." Ruby's ears droop under the fabric as she felt slightly bad for having to say this, but she really didn't plan to stay in Vale too long. Ruby was still searching; she couldn't just stop and give up to learn what she already knows in fighting.

"Miss Rose, you have so much potential. I only desire to utilize that, you wouldn't just be learning to fight to be fighting without a purpose! No, the main point of my school is to help people in need. Think about this; you could save lives with the skills you possess." After Opzin says that Glynda speaks up finally.

"I might be upset with what you did back there Miss Rose, but I agree with Opzin, you did fight nicely, and with a little work and training you could become a skilled huntress." Ruby looks at the two before she looked down at her hands that held the hem of her cloak. Ruby didn't know what to do, they did make good points, and Ruby liked to help people the best she could, maybe along the way she could find what she was searching for?

"Tell me more.." She mumbles quietly which makes the headmaster raise a brow before Ruby's head shot up and she shouted nervously. "Tell me more about the school you want to send me to!" Ruby then notices Glynda rubbing her head while the headmaster was quietly chuckling at the wolf faunus. "And.. And.. I guess.. I could.. At least see what your school has to offer for a bit.. Just tell me about it first, and I'll give you my official standing answer after." Ruby said while she looked the headmaster in the eyes earnestly, while the headmaster only offered a kind smile, making Ruby feel less imitated by the man now, but she still felt uneasy about this all to be truthful.

"Of course, Miss Rose, where do I began now," Opzin picked up his coffee mug and took a sip while the wolf faunus watched him, and a smile formed on his lips behind the mug at what he stumbled upon. _"So this is the last remaining Rose? She's grown quite a bit, Summer."_

* * *

 _ **Alright, so this is the TRAS rewrite. As you can all tell, I kind of only rewrote the top part and left the bottom part alone since I am far too lazy to rewrite dialogue and I have a bunch of other things needing to be written. But fear not, for the next chapter will be entirely written as you see at the top of my new writing style. I hope you all enjoyed this rewrite of TRAS and if you could. Give this poor Lil Wolf some reviews about anything really; I just love hearing from my reader. Don't forget to favorite, list some quotes you fancy and I'll put them in my profile bio, and share this!**_

 _ **I hope you all have a great day or night and I hope to see all of you next chapter!** _


	2. Unsuspecting Surprises

Reflecting moderately up against the large and angled frosted glass window of the airship was a pair of gray eyes silently attempting to admire the lively snow-laced city as the sun directly above the ship caused the snow to shine beautifully while the airship continued on its route. An exhausted and yearning sigh pressed past her lips as her admiration was soon shortly cut off as the various loud conversations of other students aboard the airship had overall began giving her a migraine as she rested her forehead against the glass and forced her ears back against her hair underneath the cloak. She had been feeling completely uneasy of the entire concept of being around large crowds of both faunus and humans all seeming to chat as if they were all friends, albeit for her, though, every time she had felt another student bump into her back, she would tense up and scowl.

 _ **Just lay low among the students until at least three months within my school Miss Rose, and you will have complete permission to take whatever supplies you need or have us ship them out to you for a year. It's a more than fair trade don't you think?**_

The brunette momentarily closed her eyes as she thought back to Ozpin's choice of words before she snorted in pity for her predicament. _Sometimes I seriously wonder why I do the things I do. It's a bit too late now to back out, but then again, I don't really think his idea of putting me on an airship full of other_ faunus _was a smart idea._ The brunette quietly protested and complained underneath her breath about the questionable conditions and issues before she finally exhaled through her nose as she brought all her thoughts to a pause when feeling an intense shiver going down her spine as she felt a pair eyes blazing into the corner of her skull. The sensation was quick to bring her out of her thoughts as she hesitantly peeked open her eyes and diverted her attention away from the scenic view and over towards her right where she then noticed a pair of green eyes staring intently at her as the person sniffled a few times.

The brunette furrowed down her eyebrows in concern as her eyes reluctantly strayed away from the person's green irises and down towards the red and black mixture of hairs from behind the person as the tip of it attentively twitched when they noticed her looking in their direction. She finally noticed the scent she had been smelling for the past 20 minutes was that of a fox as she noticed the person finally approaching in curiosity of why the scent of a wolf had been so strong in her surrounding vicinity. _A fox huh? Dammit. I should probably try to hurry and leave the area as casually as I possibly can not to make her alert any nearby seekers. It's the last thing I'd want to happen after lasting so long._ Ruby offered a fake smile towards the fox's direction before she lifted up both of her hands from within her pockets and grasped the front of her hood to firmly tug it down as she tried to turn around towards her left on the soles of her feet calmly before trudging off.

Ruby tightly clenched her jaw as she listened to the soft patters of the fox's shoes against the floorboards as she shuffled through the crowd to subtly follow Ruby, growing increasingly more curious of her actions. The brunette silently made her way through the groups of students to spread her scent around by occasionally bumping and rubbing her shoulder against various people before then apologizing with a sheepish smile, for there had been a number of faunus around the large area seemingly perturbed by the wolf's scent. Growing anxious, Ruby had nudged passed more students as the particular group of faunus tracking her scent became noticeably closer. She had to stay out of the open and keep her distance. She couldn't let one of the Seekers find out who she was. That would only end in a horrible way.

The fox's green eyes drilled into the back of Ruby's head as her scent trailed closer to the brunette. Ruby began panicking until her thoughts were spiraling out of control since she knew the fox hadn't been following the false trail left behind on the other students she had been brushing up against them, but her own true scent. She glanced down at the floor as she took a deep breath to weave in between the students quicker and less subtly before finally running straight into someone, an unmoving body. She stumbled back in shock before looking up with a sharp inhale as familiar lilac eyes peered down in confusion at her before the figure shifted until they were completely staring down at the stumbling faunus. The familiarity of the curls to the woman's hair and the facial features resulted in a widening of recognition in Ruby's eyes, finally looking down at the floor to avoid her gaze. _Wait, Yang? What is she doing here?_

She silently peered down at the laces of her shoes on impulse as the feeling of adrenaline continued to course through her body, resulting her breathing to become deep and ragged breaths as she tried to calm her racing heart. It had all been spiraling out of control for her for the past hour on the airship as the amount of general anxiety of noticing three scents of born seekers and other faunus was already causing her mind to malfunction. It was as if the realization of how unstressful her past free days were truly something she treasured in her current state of life as she opened and closed her jaw in an attempt at stuttering any coherent words out to the blonde. She wanted to run away from both of the situations, but she knew it would not have resolved either problem. Ruby twitched and tensed up immediately as she felt a firm hand on her shoulder as the blonde girl inhaled before sighing and spoke up in a raspy tone.

"Oh, there you are! I've been looking all over for you buddy. I thought you had gotten lost again. You can't just leave like that when there's a wolf's scent going around." Yang's worried tone startled Ruby as the fox proceeded to take another step towards the tensed brunette only to freeze when a glare from the tall blonde shot at the sly creature. "We wouldn't want you to cause a scene and embarrass yourself now would we?" Ruby painfully gulped down her nervousness as the blonde spoke up before nodding in response and continuing to avoid her eyes by looking at the floor. The tip of the fox's tail twitched irritably before she then scoffed and slowly backed away from Yang's area before turning and disappearing back to their respected group.

The blonde, seeming to be both satisfied and content with the flustered fox's reaction towards her empty threat and their abandonment of goal redirected her attention back down to the shorter faunus and offered a sympathetic smile as she loosened her grip on Ruby's upper arm. "Sorry about this kiddo. People nowadays in the faunus community are starting to bear down on the wolf rules really, aren't they? It's a shame since most of the wolves I've seen are all friendly people." The blonde faunus bellowed a chuckle as she completely removed her grip of Ruby's upper arm and allowed it to return to her side, while the shorter faunus remained motionless in her stance, contemplating both her choice of words and the next best step for the new issue.

Albeit, though, the once anxious driven scent of her sly pursuer was gradually beginning to become smothered by the scent of flowers from the long and curly strands of blonde hair. The fact by itself that it had offered some form of comfort was something Ruby had already begun despising. "You don't seem to be a talkative one, but you should know taking an airship full of other faunus was a poor choice of things you should do. You know what they do to your kind. But if you wish to stay by ol' Yangie here, I can get you to the end safe, and we can split. What's your name, though kid?"

Ruby inhaled sharply as a soft pressure on her hood snapped her out of her current thought, her eyes trailing slowly to the outstretched arm which had belonged to Yang. The praising pats on her head felt only as an invasion of space to Ruby, who grew irritated at the inane gesture and jerked away from the touch. The blonde pulled her hand away to lay at her side, the smile that was once at her face fading to an expression of interest as she caught a glimpse of the gray eyes owned by the wolf faunus. "Why are you here and why are you helping me? Don't you know wolves aren't things you can just easily trust.." With the blonde oblivious to the reason for her question, Ruby watched as she leaned back on the heels of her feet as well as raising her hands behind her head as she silently thought about how she would answer the brunette's question before she smiled even more to herself. The tall woman had reeled around just enough so that she was facing the window in order to admire the scenic view as the wolf faunus quietly snarled to herself. "And don't touch me.."

"Well, in this world and age, we live in a timeless manner of faunus and humans all trying to find peace in Vale to protect something greater right? Humanity for all. I believe everyone deserves that chance at proving humanity, so I never try to judge one by it's cover since from a young age I was taught valuable life lessons by two wolves. No, better yet, two people dear to me. You have to question what your goals really are when you meet certain people in your life. It's a pretty average story though right?" Softly, a sigh pressed past the blonde faunus's lips as the once warm beam of lights retreated until her face was completely enshrouded by a light shadow while her eyes scanned the forest terrain below. Relishing in amazement and curiosity, she noticed the trees obscured by thick layers of the harsh winter's snow as her thoughts recollected back to the main topic. "But your story seems interesting since it's not every day you run into a wolf with balls enough to take the airship with this many faunus scents, and you're going to Beacon to fight Grimm? I give you the good ol' Yangie's approval, pup." **  
**

Ruby smirked absentmindedly in sheer amusement towards the blonde's last comment before she momentarily paused as she felt the corner of her lips quirking up more into a smile steadily, resulting in a scowl to form back on her lips as she crossed her arms gently. "Everyone has their own motivation for doing risky things in their life, Yang. My story is truly just a blank page at this point, and that's all I ever plan it to be since a normal life for me is something I'll highly ever achieve. You should know that, as well as the fact that just because you're well respected in the faunus community, it wouldn't save you if you got caught helping a wolf. Trusting others to this point is something always destined to fail. You should know that Yang, since after all. You are nothing but a monster just like all the other faunus with the past you have, Raven." Yang's back promptly straightened up as she hesitantly turned her head until gray and lilac colored eyes intensely peered at each other without speaking, while a cold and devoided expression clearly betrayed off of the blonde when processing the other faunus's words.

Resent, hate, and anger held Ruby's mind at a pause as she stood her ground firmly when noticing the blonde turning her whole body toward her with the same expressionless facade. There was nothing more to do than just confront the person who was so long ago addressed as her only guardian from the skies and in her heart, as her sister, as her protector, and as someone to call safety. "You… You can always claim to have been a hero, but in reality, you know no humanity. Save me once, and that still doesn't change a fact. Even if you don't remember me, I remember you, and I remember us. Or well, what was left of us. Not that it matters now anyways since I won't even be at this school for long." As the brunette uttered the last few words of her reveal, she genuinely smiled at the blonde before she shifted around on the balls of her feet towards the back of the airship and began to resume shuffling her way through the students. She no longer had any need to continue accompanying the Raven faunus for the fact that their stop was approaching quickly

Yang's eyebrows furrowed down as she quietly mumbled a familiar name she hadn't uttered in a long time, her mind rapidly searching for specific childhood memories. As the origin of the name finally became clear as to why she remembered it, she panicked as the brunette slunk into the crowd, out of sight. In a continuous attempt to catch up to the wolf faunus, Yang shoved into other students and called out in a loud gasp before the brunette was lost to her. "Wait! Please wait! I need to know your name!" The blonde reached out her arm to grab at the other faunus, finally gaining enough ground to grab at the red cloak's hood to bring the fleeing woman to a stop and pull her away from unfriendly ears. "Is your name Ruby Rose?" she glanced around nervously before whispering once again. "The child of fallen summer?"

Ruby impulsively clenched down her jaw as tightly as she could in a silent attempt to remain passive as the blonde's pestering questions of her mother were being asked so quickly that she herself could barely comprehend the Raven anymore. For questions and conversations regarding her mother within the faunus community was as if banned, as well as other fallen wolves who lived and lives were ceased. Ruby snorted as her head raised up to stare at Yang as she felt the grip on the hem of her cloak tighten as the blonde impatiently waited for a response, earning a distasteful expression from Ruby. "Well, since lying would be pointless in this situation. I am, I am the last Rose of the family who survived captivity. But I don't see what that has to do with you anymore so what is it that you want right now, Yang?"

Yang pitifully winced when hearing the brunette's blunt comment before she felt her shoulders drooping in dejection since she had still partially been in the startled phase from obtaining the information of who exactly she was talking to. "I-What? No, I don't want anything from you, I just- please, at least let me talk to you and help you get to the actual school grounds. Just give me that much Ruby. You know I'm not like my mom, I wouldn't sell you out." Yang's tone of voice momentarily cracked as she felt the brunette try to jerk her cloak out of her hand at the last comment while giving her a dirty look, causing her to tighten her grasp on the ruffled fabric of the cloak. "You don't have to believe me right now, but can you at least acknowledge the fact you've been missing for nine years of my life since that night in the woods. Do you know how long your dad, and uncle looked for you after that? I doubt you remember your family anymore after that traumatic event, but you're wrong. You aren't the last Rose Ruby. You and your uncle are one of the same, and he was hurt the most when your mom... The impact on him was very long lasting is all I'll say."

Ruby froze in her position mid-tug as her eyes trailed back over to the blonde's lilac colored eyes that were intently peering at hers in nervousness before she slowly spoke up in confusion. "An uncle of the same kind? I'm more confused about what you're trying to say here Yang, but if you're just trying to mess with my head. I really don't have time for any of your crap, nor do I want to deal with it." Yang was quick to lift up both of her hands defensively while shaking her head in order to stop Ruby from getting the wrong ideas of what she was trying to say before she hastily spoke up to clarify **.  
**

"No! I've told you that our family doesn't believe in discrimination of our own kind. Please stop holding the past over my head Ruby, I know you aren't particularly fond of me, and I understand that but can we at least come to an agreement that no matter how long you actually intend to stay in this area or school. It's not safe. Dad told me that as your older.." Ruby immediately sneered as she was quick to catch onto what the blonde was trying to say before she jerked at her cloak until it slipped out of the other faunus's hands, resulting in Yang to defensively stick up both of her hands in front of her chest as she chuckled nervously. "I- I mean as a family member of the Ravens I was supposed to make sure you aren't either killed or captured like what's happened to all the others before you. Our families have long since been at peace with each other, and if you just let me do this for you this one time, I promise not to get in your way anymore after you leave school grounds. I will also provide you information about your uncle if that's what you really want. Please.

Ruby indignantly snorted as she contemplated her choices since while she might not have trusted the blonde to any extent, it could have ended poorly for her if she had gotten cornered and had no form of backup. The situation she had found herself in had truly brought forth the immense feeling of distress as she dug her nails into the fabric of the cloak and shuffled around on the ball of her foot to calm herself as she spoke up reluctantly. "I don't need your protection I hope you know. I'm fully capable of defending myself since I've done it for like, nine years, as you pointed out." Ruby feebly tried to smile at the fact that time had painfully flown by since the death of her mother before she felt her lips returning to neutral as her eyes strayed off to the side. "But It would also be a little bit stupid to decline an offer of backup since you actually probably learned about this school more than I did. But this doesn't make us friends, and if you get in the way I will not hesitate in pushing you down. I also expect to hear more about this uncle."

Sighing in relief of their agreement to coexist, Yang happily nodded her head as her eyes lit up in newly established determination to help her sibling. "I figured nothing more from you by this point and that's completely fine with me. I won't get in your way, but whenever you need my help, I'll try to be there as fast as I can." Yang momentarily smiled down at the other faunus as she finally turned on the soles of her feet until her eyes were able to peek through the small gap of crowding students as Beacon came into view over the horizon. "Hmm. It seems that we don't have much longer until arrival. I can tag along to the front with you since that's where most of the seekers are hanging out, and we can get our bags and weapons. But that also reminds me, do you even have one for this school?" Ruby merely grunted as she nodded her head in response as the blonde had already begun trudging off towards the front while she carefully followed behind before she sighed.

 _This is going to be_ a very long few months _at Beacon. I can already sense it sadly._

* * *

 **10 Minutes Later**

* * *

As the duo of faunus aimlessly wandered side by side down the narrow sidewalk of campus grounds, peering eyes were noticed by both as the word of a possible wolf faunus being on school grounds spread like wildfire in the faunus community. It hadn't been as if the brunette had expected it any other way, but as they traveled through the school in search of their open ceremony, she couldn't help the scowl which stayed plastered on her face the entire trip. Meanwhile, she gently sniffed at the air in search of areas of the school lacking in students in which she could call her safe haven. Her mind had long since become a scattered mess as she only cared to spare a few glances over to the blonde when hearing the carefree woman start humming a new song underneath her breath as her arms stayed behind her head, holding her bags.

The strong scent of perfume wafting through the open air of the campus grounds blew past the brunette's face as she coughed softly into her balled fist before furrowing her eyebrows in disgust for the strong abnormal scent. "It reeks of unnatural smells here, Yang. Is this normal for schools such as this?" Ruby gritted her teeth as she was growing more frustrated by the lack of open spaces without other lounging students before she resumed to grouse. "And it's almost pointless to sniff out a spot where there are no other students in the front area. The only place that doesn't smell like it's being swarmed is the roof, which I hope to be a last resort. Although if I really had to settle, I guess the roof would have to do since while there are a few up there right now, I can only hope that it's not like that for the rest of the school year."

Yang sighed as she was reminded of the time of year as a cold wind blew in her face. "It's winter, and it'll be that way for about a month while you're here. Just because you're a faunus doesn't mean you won't freeze in this brutal weather, Ruby. I think it would just be better if you and I.. teamed up for a while so there are no questions that would come up to why we would want to partner up." The blonde slowly whispered as she thought aloud to the brunette as she glanced towards her to see that Ruby wasn't listening to her words, instead staring off into the distance where the seniors stood in the front of the hall with juniors to welcome everyone to another year at Beacon. "Like it over there? I'll admit in saying that they're pretty good with fighting." Following her younger sister's gaze, Yang commented on the group of upperclassmen.

Ruby absentmindedly nodded her head in agreement in response to Yang's comment before her uncomfortably pinned ears lifted slightly from their initial spot against her head as a loud cart quickly separated both siblings and caused one of her ears to swivel towards the silence-ruining sound. Unlike Yang, who quickly sidestepped out of the cart's path, Ruby's toe had gotten rolled over by the heavy duty cart-wheel and brought forth a yelp as tears quickly formed in her eyes. She frantically jerked her foot from underneath the cart and the sudden weight shift caused a silver box off the top to tumble off onto the concrete. The injured wolf faunus began to wail as she rubbed at her toe while Yang quickly hurried to her side in concern since she could only hear a wail instead of the actions themselves. "Ruby? What indust name happened? Are you okay? Did some-"

The two sisters froze as a voice spoke up from behind the large cart and revealed a pair of icy blue eyes from behind the mountain of cases only to let her pale hand go of the front of the cart and walk over to the pair. "Your reflexes aren't that great for being accepted into Beacon. Only the best hunters and huntresses train here.. Get up before I get into trouble for running over another student on the first day of the entrance exam." With a roll of her eyes, the strange woman walked over to Ruby and held out her hand in a helping gesture while Yang only glared at the white haired girl.

"Wait, sorry? Did you mean to say you've hit other students with the same cart? All in the same day?" The white haired girl tapped her toe slightly in impatience only to suggest that Ruby hurry before the brunette finally snapped out of her daze and slowly reached out to grab at the other girl's hand. Pulling her back up, the other woman only snorted in amusement at the comment before she took her hand back and gently dusted it off against her gradient blue and white skirt. The female just closed her eyes as she inhaled, a gesture which seemed to make her look calmer as she reopened her eyes as she then shifted her weight and put her hand on her hip smoothly.

With a shake of her head, the white haired girl huffed at the two sisters. "You should probably just stay out of my way next time we meet. You could have damaged my dust that my father graciously imported from our factory to allow me to attend the school." The strange woman seemed only slightly annoyed, her once frowning face finally shifting into a slight smile at the two other females. Ruby slowly nodded her head as she listened to the other girl in order to seem as if she knew what she was babbling about before she noticed Yang in the corner of her eye finally standing up beside her while continuing to shoot a glare at the girl as she spoke up in a slight resentful tone.

"You ran over her foot because you weren't paying attention, Schnee. I wasn't expecting to see your face in a school that coexists with faunus." Yang's comment came out with a bit of a snarl as the girl simply looked her over while furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. The girl named as a Schnee continued to have a puzzled look of why the blonde was being hostile towards her before she scoffed softly and rolled her eyes as her arms tightly crossed to shrug off Yang's rude comment. Ruby only looked lost as Yang grew angry at the stranger, confused as to how her sister had recognized the female as being a part of the Schnee family.

"Ah, well. Certain things are required of the Schnee family to clear up the misimpression that our company dislikes the faunus community. My father figured it also might be a good exercise of my skills and reputation to attend my first few years in Beacon before heading overseas at the end of the year. But as to why the misimpression that our family doesn't even like faunus is simply for the fact we can never see eye to eye with the scandals named white fang which is entirely composed of nothing but faunus." Yang audibly scoffed as she shuffled around on the ball of her feet while crossing her arms across her chest while the other faunus merely frowned at the comment, only taking a second to regain her composure before she forced a friendly smile. The sensation of multiple chills running down her smile had been the only thing making her keep her friendly attitude as she noticed the once lilac colored eyes beginning to fade in and out of red as she peered at the other female.

"I was assuming you were going to mention the rebel group since while I don't know much on the topic, I do know they have been spreading throughout the kingdoms and stopping transfers belonging to you. But regardless of that, if you're looking to change your reputation in the faunus community, you shouldn't be classifying every faunus as a possible scandal since I'm sure that even the rebel group has their own reasons for doing what they do. It might not be right, but it's still a reason." Ruby brought her sentence to a halt as she glanced between the pair when noticing both pairs of eyes peering at her in minor amusement before she hesitantly spoke up again since her information on the school was already limited. "And we all in Beacon aspire for the same goal to coexist for humanity and help. We should all be working together, and we can start that by an introduction. I'm Ruby Xiao, freshman, and you are?"

Yang seemed slightly taken back by the change of the brunette's last name, but nevertheless, she remained silent as the white haired female quirked up her brow in interest before she eventually sighed as she noticed Ruby patiently waiting for a response. "Well, since you seem to know some formal manners, I am Weiss Schnee. The second daughter of the Schnee family and the heiress for the corporation. I'm also a freshman; It's a pleasure meeting you Ruby Xiao, despite our circumstances. I also suppose it's a pleasure meeting you too…?" The heiress slowly trailed her sentence off as she noticed the blonde still glaring at her as she casually talked to the faunus before she heard Yang grumble.

"I'm Yang." She bluntly replied without a beat before she finally turned to Ruby, who was still peering at Weiss in amusement before the blonde gently sighed and nudged at her shoulder before she spoke up. "Look, Ruby, we should figure out where we need to be for the opening ceremony. Let's go." A small smile from Weiss was directed to Yang in return to the idea of wandering the school grounds in order to learn her way around the school and explore where they would be living in order to become better fighters and more trained in the art of hunting Grimm.

"That's a splendid idea, Yang. Wouldn't want to be late for our first school meeting now would we?" Amusement shot through the ice blue eyes as Weiss looked at the pair of half-siblings and nodded a goodbye as she simply grabbed at her heavy dust cart again. Weiss dragged her mountainous cart away which revealed a silver case which sat on the bricks of the road they were previously walking along. The Schnee heiress dragged her cart out of view by the time Ruby had bent over to pick up the weighty case to roughly inspect it with a curious gaze.

"We should bring this to her. It's probably important." The brunette twisted the case in her hands as she looked over it more, beginning to walk towards the general direction of which the heiress had disappeared with the intent of returning what belonged to her. Coming to a stop almost as quickly as she started walking, Yang stepped in front of her younger sister which earned a sharp glare from the pair of gray eyes. Looking confused, she attempted to sidestep Yang as her sister's intentions became more confusing, which only caused a counter sidestep from the taller female. "What are you doing?"

Yang's crimson colored irises stared down at the short faunus before she spoke up in a defensive tone as she noticed Ruby growing impatient with her getting in the way of her leaving. "Ruby, don't you understand that the Schnee's don't get along with faunus? Even if they had tried to, it would just end up causing more trouble for us in the long run. I don't think it's safe." Yang's expression softened as concern for her sibling showed more clearly.

"I'm positive that even if she is the daughter of a well-known dust company, she doesn't personally abuse the faunus themselves. It's not her fault she was born into the Schnee family name along with their reputation with faunus across the world, just like it's not our fault we were born into the faunus community." Ruby's explanation towards Yang seemed to grow slightly hostile as she made her point. She took a step towards Yang while her wolf ears under her cloak instinctively pinned against her head at the small threat Yang posed.

Yang backed off a bit and put her hands up in a submissive state as she simply resumed her claim. "All I'm saying is that if this Schnee girl finds out who you are...what you are.. It'll spread like wildfire throughout the school, and you will no longer be safe, even with me around." A drawn out sigh forced its way out of Ruby's throat as she realized that the taller woman had a valid point, her arms continuously clutching the case closer to herself as she sought to act upon her original intentions.

"Well, I'll only be a minute. She won't find out in such a short amount of time. Besides, what would we even do with it? We don't use dust that much." Ruby shifted her weight impatiently as the thought of Weiss getting farther away had made her nervous, for the brunette wanted to return the case to the woman. Ruby quickly feigned a move to the left and bolted to the right of Yang, running to the same area that the white haired woman had gone.

Yang simply groaned to herself as she shifted her weight onto one leg, putting a hand loosely resting on her hip as she scuffed at the ground with her other foot. "She better be careful.. I wanted to tell Qrow that she was still alive.." With a sigh, the blonde simply trudged in the direction that Ruby ran off to.

* * *

 **Alright, so I decided to give you all a little something to look forward to in the new rewrite of TRAS since I'm sure most of you didn't believe me when I stated that this is going to be not as you remember it in the original. It generally wraps around the same plot, but not really. Rereads are always boring so I spiced it up pretty decent, right? This chapter was once again helped by my girlfriend so kudos to her for helping me finish everything on time. Next chapter will either be focused on Ruby or Yang so post your reviews of who you wish to see since both females get their own stories and they're all separate instead of connected to Ruby. Regardless, send quotes because I always enjoy listing them down to wrap up the chapter and don't forget to favorite, share, and review.**

 **Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience; This is the ideal life ~ Mark Twain**

 **Until next chapter, though, I'll see you all and I hope you have a good night or day as always! Thank you for joining us in 2017, and let's hope it's a good year.**


	3. Tale For Tale

Chilling winds grazed past the swarming group of students flooding into the double doors as the brunette scowled when occasionally bumping shoulders with another student as she pursued the white haired heiress, clutching the imprinted snowcase to her chest as she sniffled. The opening ceremony was quickly closing in on time as the day soon was beginning to turn to dawn, and the students became more urgent in seeking out the warmth of the ceremony building since the weather crew for Beacon had long since proclaimed that there was expected to be another snowstorm through Vale. Information such as that was always unpleasant for the brunette being as traveling as much as she did meant she had to bare through the trouble, however, this time she didn't entirely mind the cold weather.

Treading silently alongside a group of students who seemed to be more eccentric about the open ceremony than she was, her eyes attentively surveyed the area as the charcoal black tufts of soft fur stayed only slightly raised from pinned back against her hair as she listened to her surroundings. Ruby only momentarily slowed her pace down when eventually spotting the white haired heiress situated a few feet aside from the double doors as she was crouched down fiddling with the wheel of her chart while other students merely continued to bypass her without even sparing a glance. The newly attained knowledge that the students who bypassed her, clearly knowing of her seeming struggle brought forth a scowl as she strayed off from the pavement and onto the thin sheeted layer of snow covering the grass. _It seems everyone might share Yang's opinion of her or something, and they call this a coexisting school._

Ruby had clenched the white, imprinted case tighter before she sighed as she forced the negative thought aside from her mind before she smiled faintly as the warm feeling of her aura surging energetically through her body encased her in a light glow of crimson as she sprinted over towards the heiress. The scent of roses heavily carried through the air as the sudden release of aura had been more than enough to cause a gust of wind to blow the heiress's bangs up out of her face. Ruby came to a halt beside her, smiling sheepishly as she noticed the look of confusion adorning the woman's face as she impulsively looked up to her right where she had assumed the gust of wind had come from before slightly tilting her head as Ruby spoke up on her other side in a sheepish tone. "See something that you take a fancy to over there? Or- Wait, no. Don't tell me you're into staring at other people's shoes as a hobby or something."

The sudden sound of the brunette's mellow voice had been more than enough to elicit a yip from the white haired heiress as her balance on her soles gave out, and she plummeted to the side of her hip with a wince. Icy cold irises then promptly darted towards her left until she had been met with a look of amusement openly betraying on the brunette's facial expression as she slowly crouched down to her knees, keeping her arms crossed tightly around the suitcase as her expression momentarily turned to concern. "Are you alright, though? I might have gone a little overboard with the joking part, but I just needed an ice breaker to really talk to you and being as social interactions aren't my best skill, A for effort right?" Ruby sheepishly offered a smile in an attempt to break the sudden tension as the other female gave her a blank expression for a few seconds before a sigh eventually pressed past her lips as she noticed the brunette lowering the case from her chest to the snow covered ground in minor dejection of not being acknowledged completely. "Today seems to have a lot of reversed roles though huh?

As the brunette's eyes strayed away from the suitcase and over to the wheel that the heiress had been fiddling with prior, she used both of her hands to gently dust off the bits of kicked up snow from the woman's frantic movements of surprise. "But if you want me to leave you be, I can scurry off somewhere else. I just." The brunette's words seemed to momentarily roll limply of her tongue to a complete standstill as she intently furrowed her eyebrows when a moment of comprehension washed over her original thoughts, and she considerately extended her palm out towards the other female as she reluctantly spoke up again. "You don't seem very talkative anymore like earlier at the moment, but from the look of your stare at me, I'm getting the hint I might have something on my face? Snow? Food?"

Weiss blinked profusely as she listened in amusement to the brunette nervously list numerous amounts of various things that could have been possibly on her face before she sighed and shook her head in a silent objection. "No, your face is fine, Miss Ruby Xiao. I just couldn't help but think about how we don't really have the greatest chances of meeting; do we? Nor do you seem to be the brightest of students here if you believe that-Hold on." Scrunching up her nose in confusion and curiosity, the heiress reached out hesitantly and scuffled the suitcase over to her side as her eyes narrowed. "What did you do? I don't believe I've processed where you came from when I didn't even hear you coming up beside me, and I'm pretty positive I would have heard you, seeing as you don't pose any potent skills enough to be an aggressive or sneaky person."

The brunette's shoulders promptly drooped down in minor dejection as the other woman had openly hinted multiple times already that she didn't seem to be the brightest person, before finally admitting it now. Little did she know that she was merely underestimating her senses. Ruby dug the heel of her sneakers into the dirt in an awkward kick as her response was silent with only a shrug of her shoulders. The action earned a look of confusion from the other woman before she turned her attention back to the nonfunctioning wheel of the heavy dust-weighted cart. The brunette then spoke up, ignoring the heiress's question as she glanced down at the white suitcase lying in the dull shining snow barely concealing the green of the grass.

"I figured I would at least bring this case back to you before you figured it was missing later and freak out or something. You dropped it earlier when you ran over my toe and thought you might want it back." Nervousness fluttered in the brunette's chest as she gingerly raised her hand up to the back of her neck to rub at it while her eyes intently watched the heiress stand and grab the handle to the suitcase, then effortlessly stood up in order to place the case back atop of the wall of silver. The action of the heiress resulted in the brunette quizzically quirking up her brow as her head tilted on impulse and her legs staggered off more to the side of Weiss, only to catch a glimpse of the heiress gently dusting the snow off from the top suitcase. Weiss eventually glanced back over to the brunette in a startling manner, causing her to impulsively step back in defense before eventually pausing completely when noticing the quirked up brow from the heiress.

"I-Uh, well. It wasn't as if either me or.." The word seemed to freeze at the tip of the brunette's tongue as she contemplated her choice of words for how she would have had to address the Raven while her eyes steadily strayed off to the side when reluctantly forcing the rest of what she had to say out of her mouth. "My _sister's_ weapons are ready for dust enforced upgrades. Using charcoal shells are already a little bit too advanced for my own weapon."

A perplexed expression steadily dawned in on the heiress's face when noticing the frantic hand motions the brunette had been unconsciously doing in front of her chest before she raised her hand enough to gesture for Ruby to go away so the brunette wouldn't have to deal with her problem of the cart being dysfunctional. "Well regardless, Miss Xiao," Weiss stated as she cleared her throat when noticing the first few words coming out as nothing but quiet whispers before she reluctantly crouched down next to the wheel and spoke up in a sheepish tone. "Thank you for returning the case to me. But it would probably be best if you headed back to your sister since she must be worried." The comment itself immediately brought forth a scowl on the brunette's lips as she herself quieted down and allowed her arms to drop limply back to her side, while her weight shifted over onto her other leg as she peered at Weiss in mild concern again. "It's fine; this is nothing I don't know how to fix."

Silence quickly intervened between the pair as the soles of Ruby's sneakers sunk down with a satisfying crunch into the glistening snow as her weight was causing her sneakers to make imprints in the snow, molding her feet comfortably in her spot as she looked on at Weiss for a few minutes while the heiress silently struggled. The brunette then hesitantly lifted her foot to take a step towards the cart and the woman, then paused mid-step when soft crunch of the snow rang out in the near silence making her realize how the number of people had slowly dissipated into the building. The few stragglers still trickled into the building as they passed the two women, glancing in their direction to whisper gossip of the heiress's arrival. Ruby knew she needed to find the raven before the ceremony started, but she felt like she needed to help the heiress with her cart so she wouldn't miss it as well.

Stepping back hesitantly ensued the action of the heiress's shoulders drooping as both of the girls heard the occasional gossipers that bypassed, murmuring things to each other when spotting the heiress. Weiss simply tugged at the wheel as Ruby watched on as the heiress refused to speak up or stand up for herself due to the fact it happened so often. Yang's words swam around in Ruby's memories as the relapsed sentences attempted to change her mind about sticking around the woman who had the potential to reveal everything.

 **All I'm saying is that if this Schnee girl finds out who you are… What you are... It'll spread like wildfire.**

The unexpected reminder of the Raven's words resulted in the sensation of her throat constricting as she felt as if a bile lump was forming in the back of her throat at the thought of the Raven admitting that being the highly sought out wolf faunus was far from normal. As if it was her choice to be the way she was. A familiar sensation and thought washed intensely over the faunus as she watched the heiress remain alone as she fiddled with the wheel of her cart while occasionally shuddering as the winds around them began picking up. It carried the indication that the weather crew for Beacon's area wasn't far off with their predictions for a possible snow storm later in the evening. _This isn't fine, is it? Attention isn't something I need in my situation, but if she just told me. This isn't fine. I can handle a little attention. I know I'm considered to be a bad person, but mother always taught better. Even with my record now._

It was true, even having a so-called decent conscious now would have never been enough to abide for her past actions or even current ones. But even so, the intrusive thoughts elicited a scowl on the brunette's lips as she internally grimaced and pushed aside the irritable thoughts as she inhaled softly. _It's just the polite and right thing to do, this is normal. Nothing really worth causing anyone to assume the worse right?_ A look of worry briefly washed over the brunette's facial expression at the sudden question to herself before she paused as her vision fixated on the heiress. The centered ponytail of the heiress was delicately sprawled out on the female's back in a hypnotic way while Ruby nervously began trudging back forward to Weiss's side, only managing to snag her attention back from the wheel when coming to a halt directly beside her.

Confusion loomed heavily around both of the females as Ruby peered down at the heiress only to find that the heiress was similarly peering up at her while furrowing her brows. The heiress seemed miffed as she noticed the timid tone lacing Ruby's voice as she spoke up. "Uh, hey there- again. Sorry to bug you again for the like, third time today. I just couldn't really ignore the fact that you're over here seeming to struggle with the wheel of your cart, and I thought I could offer some more of my assistance if you're okay with that, that is." The ungiving stare from the other woman simply sent Ruby continuing to move forward with her thoughts of helping the heiress.

Finally, the brunette leaned over Weiss in a non-intrusive fashion in order to inspect the wheel as the other woman merely looked at her with slight surprise and confusion as she noticed her cape trailing in the snow behind her while she reached out to the cart. With minimal observation, Ruby noticed the outer rubber tread of the wheel beginning to slip off, which bumped into the connecting axle plates to the side and prevented the wheel from turning properly. Now Ruby understood why Weiss was having such a hard time. The weight of the cart wouldn't allow her to both lift the cart and move the rubber tread back into place, making it a two-person task. "To get the wheel functional again, one person needs to lift the wheel off of the ground, and one other person needs to slip the rubber tread back into place so the wheel can move freely once again.."

The once pale and porcelain color evident on the heiress's cheeks soon turned to a light shade of crimson as she softly inhaled after listening to the conclusion of the wheel's problem. The heiress took notice of the concerned look betraying on the brunette's face as she crouched down once again and fiddled with the wheel even more while musing the two options. "Well, I suppose if you're intent on remaining after I assured you that you could leave. I could fix the rubber on the wheel since it seems like a simple enough assignment." The soft sound of a stifled snicker was quick to bring the heiress's attention back over to the pair of partially hidden gray eyes as she noticed Ruby covering her mouth while nodding her head in agreement. However, the action itself elicited a soft scoff from the heiress. "What? Are you mocking me?"

The sudden question brought forth an apologetic grin from the brunette as she gently shook her head in an attempt to play off an innocent act when speaking up. "Nope, would never think of it. You seem like a very intimidating figure that sure most certainly be feared among us. But I suppose to assure you that I am on your side, I'll help lift the cart since it should be an easier job for me to do. I know I look small, but small people are always those you have to worry about right?" Shortly after chuckling the last few words out, Ruby moved her hands from her pants pocket and placed them on her knees to help her carefully stand back up in order to walk over to beside the cart and gently grasp onto the cold metal bars. "You just have to move the wheel tread back into place and give the wheel a few test spins then you're all done."

"I have a fair amount of faith in the two of us that we are able to do this. I'll work quickly so you don't drop it on your toe, for it would be a shame if you injured the same one, Ruby Xiao." Grinning cheekily at the snide comment she had made, the heiress couldn't help but crack a small smile as she recalled the events prior to their meeting while the brunette snickered softly. "As they say, an eye for an eye. Even if it is just mocking." The heiress crouched next to the wheel before preparing herself in a position that gave her both comfort and ease of access to the wheel so she could easily get the rubber tread back in place and allow the wheel to spin once again.

A playful scoff escaped the brunette's lips in response to the heiress's cheeky comment, subtly placing her feet in the appropriate positions in order to prepare herself to lift up such a massive object correctly. "I'm ready to raise it. Make sure to get the tread on all the way." Ruby stated as she ensured that the white haired woman was knowledgeable of the situation, watching as she then crouched next to the wheel as the brunette began to lift the cart slowly from the ground. Weiss began to repair the wheel as she turned and pushed the tread back into place onto the circumference of the wheel as her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. The brunette kept the cart at a steady height as she observed Weiss out of the corner of her eye as she worked on fixing the wheel.

Fiddling effortlessly with the rubber of the cartwheel, the heiress snapped the rubber tread into place against the mental before feeling her chest flourish in the feeling of accomplishment as she glanced over to the brunette and silently signaled for her to lower it. "That was simple enough. It seems you're handier than you look, Xiao." Ruby smiled contently at the grateful tone laced in the heiress's voice before she nodded her head and steadily lowered the cart back down to the ground and gave it a few test pushes and pulls to double check the wheel. "I should probably see into switching the wheels to another model… But I appreciate that you've shown me how to fix the issue next time it arises, although, don't get cocky too much just for receiving this much praise in one day of meeting. Because it won't happen this often anymore if we cross paths again." **  
**

Gentler winds howled through the ragged air as the brunette snorted in acknowledgment to the snide comment before she shifted her weight on the back of her heels, steadily pivoting over towards the east of them until the oak wooden doors came into view. "Yeah, Missy. Sure, I'll keep that in the back of my mind the next time you ultimately praise me again." A devious and toothy grin immediately followed after the brunette murmured the last part and began staggering towards the orientation building, only stopping to spare the heiress now behind her a small suggestive head nudge towards the doors. "But for now, in the reality of things. You wouldn't mind playing along with me a little more right, Tsundere? By that, I mean, letting me assist you in the protective service called 'let's not get buried and lost in the massive group of students in orientation.' Also, we can at least stick together until we find out where our dorms are right? Freshmen have to stick together after all. Plus I still don't know the area well heh."

Adorning the brunette's face was a thoughtful expression as she gently scuffed her foot against the collide of pavement and grass as she tried to come up with logical reasons for her to hang around the heiress until she was actually able to scout out the other faunus's scent. But that was already proving to be a difficult task as the massive collision of scents was causing even that of a wolf's scent ability to be thrown off, and the idea of following the wrong trail to another faunus resulted in the brunette's stomach curling in protest.

With a roll of her eyes and moment to consider her options, it was clear as day for the heiress to notice that the brunette was being genuine about a few of the thing she stated. "You make a decent persuasive point. It is the freshmen's first years that Beacon has had in awhile, so we would most likely be buried in juniors and seniors of the last year." As the heiress had been speaking in a poised tone, she inhaled and closed her eyes as she grabbed the frosted metal of the cart before beginning to tug at it in Ruby's direction. It had still partially made the heiress feel uneasy with having company that fast on her first day of school, but it hadn't been as if she completely minded someone who was willing to offer a hand when needed around. "I will 'tag' along, but if you call me a 'Ter-suda again, whatever it may be, I will not resist in back-handing you for having no manner of respect to my name. "

Ruby silently bit down into her bottom lip as she heard the heiress stutter when trying to pronounce the word properly before she forced herself to feign a hurt expression as she brought her hand from her side and to her chest, sniffling for a moment before chuckling. "Hmm. Seems like a very difficult task if you ask me, but the idea of being backhanded doesn't really interest me so I'll just say that I'm hurt you'd think of hitting a stranger who's done nothing but help you. I'm beginning to think you're a bully secretly, but it's okay _'rice',_ I know you're grateful for my presence." The undignified and snarky comment in return to the heiress's earned a small snort from the heiress as the brunette's ears twitched at the enticing sound before she tensed and raised her hand to push her ears back down into the long tresses, acting as if she was scratching her head. "Uh, well anyway, it definitely looks packed in here. Do you plan on taking that thing the whole way in here? Seems junky in that way."

An immediate gasp startled the brunette out of her thoughts as the heiress increased her pace until she was walking beside Ruby as the duo entered the warmth that the building supplied to the bundled and grouping students. The impression that she had somehow managed to offend the woman clearly showing as the heiress raised her chin indignantly, speaking in a tone that shocking did make Ruby feel as if she was a lesser being compared to her new white haired companion. "Believe it or not, I don't entirely trust the faculty of this school to handle or care for my more personal luggage. It's simply-" Before the heiress could finish her complaint of the school's handling, the brunette quickly intervened.

"Nope, trust me. I do understand what you're trying to say. It's not like freshmen are to be expected to trust very persuasive people. You'd be shocked at how I got accepted into Beacon. Their conditions are very odd but very interesting to me. I mean, seriously. Who brings cookies as a reward." Weiss blankly stared at the brunette as she rambled incoherently about a background story that she didn't particularly care for involving cookies before both of the pair came to a halt in the near back of the building as the lights dimmed where they were until only the stage light lit the building. "You don't really care about what I'm talking about do you?" Icy blue eyes only momentarily glanced away from the stage and over to the brunette before the heiress blatantly shook her head and glanced back over to the stage as the headmaster came into view from the sidelines, greeting the more older students towards the front for another year.

The once clamorous and talkative atmosphere dwelling between groups of students steadily dwindled out into silence as the headmaster came to a halt in front of the silver microphone, and cleared his throat gently to gather the attention of everyone first before he continued to greet them. It had all been fine and dandy, but the brunette couldn't for the life of her focus on the useless material he was addressing of the school rules and the year's new way of orientation. Instead, Ruby folded her arms across each other and repeatedly leaned back and forth on the soles of her feet as she hummed her earlier folk tale tune and looked around abstractedly, the words of the blonde mentioning holding the brunette's thoughts at a halt.

As she occupied her mind by humming her tune, Ruby's eyes glazed over the attentive students as she simply zoned out from the noises ringing out around her. A small tug on her cape escaped her thoughts, as she thought that the red fabric was merely snagged on something small as she just turned her shoulder away from the pressure to hopefully release her cloak from whatever had caught onto it. Nevertheless, the tugging persisted as Ruby was still in her trance until it turned into a violent jerk of her cloak, causing the front ties of her cloak to pull taut against her neck. A second tug completed the task of squeezing the cloak against Ruby's windpipe as she struggled for breath and began to desperately writhe around in her failing attempts at trying to regain her cloak back away from her neck and into her hands.

Her last endeavors consisted of flinging herself backwards into the captor of her cloak, desperate to relieve the pressure against her neck s0 she could breathe once again. Her shoulder blades connected with another body as her feet left the ground while her fingers wrapped around the front of her cloak to give her room to breathe. The body behind her gave out, and they both fell to the ground, followed by two individual yelps sounded out and silenced the headmaster at the podium as well as attracting the attention from all of the surrounding students. Ruby's fall consisted of landing directly on the base of her tail, which sent spasms of pain down the rest of the remaining muscle of the hidden faunus feature.

The other person who turned out to be a boy with blonde hair had his face pressed against the floor as blood seeped from what Ruby assumed to be his nose while his butt stuck into the air, the rest of his body crumpled into a heap as he merely whimpered to reveal his pain. Ruby's eyes stung as tears formed in the corner of them, and she looked up at Weiss with the hope that it would distract her focus off of the pain of her poor tail, but after seeming to offer no comfort. Her hands pulled her cloak away from her neck as she escaped from its hold, blood rushing to her head as she succeeded in finally getting oxygen back into her lungs. Grimacing in pain from her fall, Ruby staggered to her knees and pushed herself up to her feet, rubbing her lower back with both hands as she turned around and confronted the crumpled male. "What the heck dude.. I don't need to be having back pain this early in life.. If you just wanted to ask something, a simple tap on the shoulder would have sufficed." A wheeze escaped the brunette's lips as the annoyance slipped out from the whole situation causing her entire lower half to be in utter pain.

As both of the students writhed in minor pain from having fallen on each other, the heiress gave them both dull and ungiving looks as she folded her arms in front of her chest and shifted her weight onto her right leg as she spoke up. "Once again, the question of how Beacon is letting people as clumsy as you in the school is permitted. What in dust's name did you do to cause this big of a commotion on orientation day beside bust your ass." The brunette was the first to process and respond to the harsh comment as she used her left hand to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes as her shoulders drooped at all the attention. Her tail had truly taken the majority of the fall as she had it draped up to her waist with the tip tugged into her pants to ensure that nobody could see the attachment.

"It wasn't my fault that someone didn't watch where they were going! I'm taking the majority of the beating today trying to be friendly!" A low and threatened snarl tried pressing its way from the brunette's throat as her head and body reeled around to beside her to face the person who had nearly knocked her unconscious from the shock of nearly snapping her tail into two when she froze. Sprawled out limply on the floor laid the blonde and slender guy whose head had long since raised up when hearing Ruby raise her tone, an apologetic expression clearly showing on his face as blood trickled down his nose. The blonde haired boy offered both females a meek smile as they opened and closed their mouth in disbelief that a significant amount of blood was trickling down his chin now.

"Oh uh, I'm sorry for that and this… I was- I was just trying to find a restroom since I've been feeling a little antsy since we've." Both females momentarily quirked up their brows as the blonde's expression briefly betrayed that he was becoming more flustered with every word before reluctantly continuing his claim with choked words. "..got off the airships... I'm new to the whole flying thing.." the blonde managed to trail off as the two other women assumed correctly that it was his first time on an airship. Ruby brought her hand to her face and gently massaged the bridge of her nose as she turned in a direction to where she assumed a bathroom was, with the intentions of somehow getting a bunch of tissue for the blood still gushing out of his nose. Weiss remained by her cart with her arms still crossed over one another while the boy tilted his head and looked at the heiress, who merely shrugged at his unspoken question.

"Don't look at me like you expect me to understand what she's doing and the events that just occurred. We only just met today, and you're the one who caused this whole mess." The blonde immediately raised up his free hand defensively when hearing the heiress sneer in agitation towards the sudden attention they had gathered before he quietly sulked and tilted his head back to keep the blood at bay.

Scowling intently as the heiress and other students glared at him as being the cause of the commotion, he gently scuffed the foot of his shoes against the floorboard while softly murmuring. "Accidents happen you know. None of you are all innocent either."

* * *

 **10 Minutes elsewhere  
**

* * *

Grating winds grazed campus ground in an uproar as the storm wavered closer to Vale and Beacon, leaving the snow coated pavements of the campus grounds empty as the blonde raven silently and aimlessly wandered down them. The soft chatter of her teeth being the only source of human noise as she shuddered intensely when feeling another gust of wind sweeping past her, raising the blonde wavy locks of her hair in her face during the process and leaving her neck momentarily exposed. Brooding crimson eyes surveyed the now desolate area as she thought back to how she reacted to the heiress and wolf faunus with distaste. It hadn't been like her to lose her temper that fast towards things so simple, but it was almost as if she felt she was the one to be at fault for anything that might have happened to her sibling. Up until recently, she was told to show respect and honor, to stay on task for those in the faunus community needed the next generation of ravens to bring fortune back to their race.

The thought had been more than enough to elicit a solemn chuckle from the blonde as her breath fogged up in front of her face as she steadily slowed her pace down. _Try as I might, it's proving to be a more difficult task to carry out on finding Ruby with all these different scents I've never smelled before. My nose is only able to bare so much. I never thought I would actually regret taking_ Qrow's _lesson on heightening my senses. I just- no. I don't need to. I said I would never need it and just because she's_ back.. _That, that doesn't give me a reason to feel that way. It should be vise Versa if anything._

Nestling her chin into the yellow sweater she had put on after the other faunus had run off, the blonde closed her eyes as her hair gently pushed up against the undersides of her neck and cheeks. Her thick hair had completed the task of sealing in warmth as she listened to the cool breeze push around the leafless branches while they rattled against each other. Nothing but ambiance resonated in the blonde's ears as she made it past the fountain, pausing in mid-step when hearing a soft whisper on the other side of the fountain. She peeked open her left eye and subtly turned her head to glance over to figure out where the soft noise was coming from when she finally came to a complete stop. She happened to notice a female standing at the fountain with her arm half in the water while she grumbled under her breath as if she was distressed.

Remaining motionless as she squinted her eyes to better distinguish what she was looking at, Yang noticed the long black locks of hair hiding the female's face from view as she continued to wade her arm through the water with the occasional flinch when the wind caused a couple of stray droplets to spray into her face. _Huh? What's with her? I would've thought all the students were gathering to the opening ceremony rather than playing with the fountain._ Yang moved closer to the woman as she observed the motions of her continuing to move her arm through the water, the movements urgent as if she were panicking. The blonde was curious as to why the other woman was doing what she was, finally able to see past the fountain when she moved closer and into the water where various books of color and size were scattered at the bottom of the fountain floor. The woman was reaching into the fountain as she carefully grabbed all of the soggy hardcover books. Books?

Looking momentarily confused and startled by the unanticipated dilemma, Yang furrowed her eyebrows and casted her now light-hearted gaze around the surrounding area only to realize that it had been just the two of them by the fountain by that point as the ceremony had most likely long since been started. Yang absentmindedly shifted until her hip was curved outward and her hand strayed to her hip as she considered her options of whether or not she would have further investigated the issue regarding the other female. Suddenly the realization that it could have possibly been an issue with the woman being teased popped into thought, earning her concern as she let her arm go limp and she began trudging over towards the other female. "Hey, there partner. It seems like you're having some issues over and I was wondering if everything's alright? I noticed you digging in the fountain from the other side on my way to orientation." Yang tried her best at giving off a friendly impression and greeting before she eventually came to a halt a few feet towards the other woman and tensely waved her hand in a small waving manner, only pausing to scowl when noticing the other female ignoring her.

The black haired female sniffled subtly before she glanced up, revealing her amber eyes to Yang only briefly before letting a soft sigh pass her lips and looking back down, not even sparing Yang a second glance as the blonde came to a stop a few feet besides her. The chatty woman stuck her hands in her jacket pocket and sighed. "Alright, you have a very solid point. It's clear to see by anyone that you're having issues. But don't you think that ignoring someone merely wanting to help is a little rude?" Yang quietly peered at the woman who simply seemed to ignore her before the blonde eventually sighed and removed her hands from her warm pockets. With a soft mischievous scoff, Yang continued the conversation with herself as she carefully sat on the bricks of the water fountain. "Okay, well. Hello, I'm Yang, world's best mind reader. From the way you're ignoring me, it's clear as day to me, the mind reader, that you are desperately pleading for me to help in getting your books out of the water. Oh, you're welcome, young damsel in distress, for saving your poor helpless books from their watery graves."

Yang's tone became slightly high pitch in a mocking way as she lifted up both of her feet one at a time, so she was able to pull off both of her shoes and socks before she shifted back on her tailbone and pivoted around until her feet were planted in the water. Sending an immediate shudder down her spine from the icy water before her hands splayed out on the brick in order to push herself up to her feet. Yang stumbled forward slowly through the cold water, careful not to lose her balance so she wouldn't have to deal with the watery outcome of falling into the freezing liquid. Yang waded farther into the fountain before she bent over to retrieve two books sprawled out with their pages lightly floating in the water, being tugged around by the ripples that Yang created with her motion of walking.

An understanding smile formed on the blonde's lips as she noticed the once devoid expression the other woman's face had now were with amusement as lilac meet amber. "Oh yeah, don't worry about it. I'm used to people not being very social right away with me. I believe that being social is something should be worked up to rather than forcing yourself into uncomfortable spots for social acceptance." The other female seemed minorly taken aback by the blonde's sudden respectful tone of voice before she narrowed her eyes as Yang sneezed when another cold gust of wind blew past them. "But man, winter really sucks in my opinion. Next time you wanna let your books go nude swimming, give me a call to wear something warmer." A cheesy expression stayed plastered on the blonde's face as she extended her arm out towards the other woman and handed over to two books she had picked up from the icy water, finally earning her enough respect for the other female to speak up hesitantly.

"You didn't have to do this for me. It's not exactly as if you gain any leverage from doing it, did you?" The considerably innocent question immediately provoked a moment of silence as the blonde forced herself to remain holding the smile on her lips as she cautiously stepped out of the freezing water and eventually sighed. The once comfort of feeling somewhat warm escaping through her fingertips as she felt her once dry and rolled up pants clung damply to her skin. It was cold and demeaning as she shrugged her shoulder as gently shook at her leg in an effort to get some of the water off of her legs while the other female watched before adding on to her comment. "I mean, what's done is done. I suppose looking at the more brighter side that you did help me isn't something I should ignore and not be thankful for. So thank you, for at least trying." Yang's attention drifted back over to the other woman as she noticed her patting at the spot next to her. "Come here; I have something that might help you."

Hesitation and awkwardness momentarily were easy to spot by the black haired woman as she noticed Yang fidgeting abnormally before eventually taking a few steps closer to her and sitting down. The unsure communication between the pair was tensely looming in the air as the black haired woman lowered her hand to reach into her bag to rummage around, eventually pulling out a small black cloth and handing it over to Yang with a smile tugging at her lips. "I know it's not much, but if I knew that I would be trying to dry off a girl who stepped in freezing water this evening, I would have brought bigger towels. We just can't be too cliche though about pulling out large towels can we?"

Instinctively, Yang caught the piece of cloth with a short outreach of her arm before she glanced down at it before looking back up to the other female who encouragingly nodded her head. "Heh. It seems I'm acting a little bit too mellow today huh? You know, I'm normally not like this." The other woman nodded her head in an attempt to give her silent condolence before Yang redirected her attempt back down to her legs as she began to use the cloth to wipe her legs dry, and to no avail, her pants. "The real reason I stopped to help you is honestly just because I saw you struggling and this wasn't an act of pity. I just, I figured I'd offer you a hand." She paused momentarily before chuckling and adding onto her comment. "Or maybe two legs as well. I just like helping people, and since you were on the path that I needed to follow to find my sister before the open ceremony, It became a win-win right? You seem to be the type of person who knows the school grounds like the back of your hand. Is this like your third year here or something?"

Yang's comment earned a sheepish smile from the black haired girl before she hid her amber eyes from sight once again and shook her head in response. "Well, no. It's actually my first year here at Beacon Academy. I just thought since our airship arrived at the school pretty early, I would spend my time reading until it was time to go. I accidentally knocked over my tower of books when a group of guys passed by in a… Uncivilized manner." Yang's expression almost immediately turned sour as she was more so disappointed that one of her possible ideas of why the black haired woman was initially digging in the fountain for was the case. She had never been one to sit by and allow others to bully people when she was around, and in that case, it could be concluded as just that.

"Okay, so I believe I've gotten a better grasp of understanding on what happened over here, but now I can't help but wonder what did someone as innocent looking as you do to piss off someone? Or I mean, to be pushed around. Did you upset your friends or past friends?" The black haired female merely shook her head to the last two questions while shrugging her shoulders for the first one since she didn't know either, but the questions from Yang abruptly changed the topic as she noticed the raised brows. " Hey, by the way. You never gave me your name. I don't know what to call you if I don't know it, and by the way, I hope I was able to help salvage your books before they got to the point of no return. If you're not comfortable telling it to me, that's fine as well. I just don't want to be rude." The last comment from Yang settled the black haired girl's heart beat as the once frantic thumps against her chest as she tried to gather her books was now long since passed as the blonde began putting back on her socks without looking up.

"Well, if you're so interested in learning of my name. It's Blake, and so far, it's been an amusing pleasure meeting you here, Yang." Color to Yang's cheeks slowly began to return as she snorted as she felt her lips steadily pressing into a grin as she felt the wind blow past the pair, carrying the scent of honey as she nodded.

"You like to be mysterious too huh? Just a first name for now, right. Don't worry, Blake. I'll find the rest of your name sometime very soon. And as a Xiao, we always can appreciate the effort behind a mystery. I like it."

* * *

Alright, guys some that's another chapter of TRAS and I'm actually feeling pretty confident about it being pretty good. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as much as I enjoyed writing this chapter because both the bumblebee and whiterose are well on point honestly for me. This is exactly like SOH on the cursing so if you aren't a fan of it, beware of future chapters. I enjoy it because they're humorous in here for me at least. Every chapter will be around 5-6,000 words so don't worry about any short chapters from TRAS because I gotta make the wait exciting for more. It's called luring so far into reading then snagging it away from the reader. I know, everyone probably knows me for my anguish so I've gotta keep that throne warm even as an author. Kudos to my girlfriend for helping as well once again!

Next chapter previews? That might become a thing if people are really into the story so you're into that idea? Go ahead and write a review informing me of that. Also, don't forget I'm always open to quote suggestions so send them all my way! Let's get into reading some good ol' quotes like always.

 **"It's not all bad. Heightened self-consciousness, apartness, an inability to join in, physical shame and self-loathing—they are not all bad. Those devils have been my angels. Without** **them, I would never have disappeared into language, literature, the mind, laughter and all the mad intensities that made and unmade me."**  
 **― Stephen Fry, Moab Is My Washpot**

 **"I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered, and continued to suffer, because they could not break out from their own web of shyness and reserve, and in their blindness and folly built up a great** **distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth."**  
 **― Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca**

 **Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. –Napoleon Hill**

 **I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. –Maya Angelou**

Now I picked these quotes myself to relate to the chapter I wrote, but regardless. They have good reasoning to me, and with that being said. That brings chapter 3 to a conclusion. Until next readers and friends, have a good day or night and don't forget to review, like, and share.

 **-Pure out**


	4. Confliction

Streaks of dawn crept through the dingy lit hallway of Beacon as diverse groups of students chattered avidly down it, making their way from the orientation room and towards the dining hall for supper. Both the earlier incident with their newly acquired acquaintance, Jaune, being the main topic of giggles while the wolf topic was still being fret over by the faunus segments. Ruby was no fool by far, as when it came to abandoning those close when needed, she chose life over death. It was a necessity she so told herself always, and yet here she was, remaining by the trio's side when it was clearly time to return to the Raven. It frustrated her as she ran the thought through her head a million times by that point and yet it was always the same hesitancy.

As her internal debate went on, she finally decided to push aside her indecisive struggle with an unnoticeable furrow of her eyebrows and reluctantly spare a glance to her right. Walking beside her was the composed daughter of the largest company within both Atlas and Vale, yet well despised by faunus worldwide. Weiss Schnee. The infamous heiress was about the same height as Ruby, her long white tresses of hair dangling from her shoulder while Ruby observed that the other female's eyes were abstractedly peering out of the frosted glass windows. The brunette uncontrollably wiggled her ears up from its containment before she sniffled when the soothing fragrance of the heiress made itself more apparent in the area. It reminded her of her mother's silky white cloak as it always managed to hold the scent of white roses. She smiled noticeably at the thought before nestling more into her own cloak.

Frigid temperatures encased the dimly lighted atmosphere within the hall with ease, as the once initially refreshing breeze had now begun turning into full force winds which signified that of an oncoming blizzard. It wasn't long, however, before Ruby piped up and bluntly called out her thoughts on the sudden change. "Man, guys, how are you not freezing in this weather? It's ridiculous how cold Vale can get in such a short time period, and I've been to some cold places. You'd think this weather would be nothing right?" Her teeth chattered violently against each other as the confused gazes of both walking beside her soon redirected in her direction, both their brows quirked up in an interest of the question.

Jaune however, remained silent as he considered how to respond while Weiss only took a moment to clear her throat from having not spoken to either since orientation, in which she then commented in a prideful tone. "The cold is nothing but a reminder of Atlas to me. Our family was raised to be unaffected by such things as that, and most students here come from up north, so it's bound to have little effect on them either. I'm assuming Jaune is no different the rest of the students, correct?" Jaune paused, startled by the question as he hadn't been expecting the heiress to strike up a conversation with him, as she had seemed to dislike any communication towards him from their prior meeting. His cheeks lit up in a light shade of rose as he nervously chuckled and spoke up, his voice cracking still from both fear and how much he was afraid to make himself look like a bigger fool towards her.

Ruby immediately forced back a cringe as shortly after she had returned from the bathroom, the atmosphere around the pair was abnormally suffocating. A few minutes later it hadn't taken a genius to figure out that each subtle time Jaune tried being friendly, he was also trying to get somewhere with flirting, and yet instantly got dismissed by the heiress as if she didn't understand what was transpiring. She couldn't help but honestly feel somewhat sorry for the young man, but she never stuck her nose too far into those conversations. Being their next romance counselor was something she didn't even want to encourage to happen.

"Oh, uh, yeah. My sisters and I tended to stay up north to visit family members since our parents were very interested in traveling.." Jaune shuffled unnerved at the last part before he offered them both a smile as the scent of food wafted from the dining hall as they were almost there now. "But man I am really starved after all that stuff that happened in orientation with you two. I'm glad we all were able to go together, since while I am Jaune Arc. I don't. Heh, I don't have anyone I know to sit with and eat the dinner my mom made me for the last time before I left." An expression of disturbance betrayed clearly on both of the females faces as the blonde boy used his hands in front of him to form the shape of a lunch box before he leaned down to Ruby and whispered. "It's my mom's special homemade turkey and those orange juice boxes. In my opinion, it's better than any school food. I can share some with you, but you have to let me sit in between you and Weiss yeah?"

Ruby for the first time that day felt genuinely appeased by the offer of Jaune as she herself didn't mind some extra turkey and juice boxes after a long day. She vigorously nodded her head and lifted up her hand to give Jaune a thumbs up as the trio eventually trudged past the double doors and into the cafeteria. Scents of various foods flooded the brunette's strong scent of smell as she nearly groaned in content being as her days on the street never consisted of the amount of food within the cafeteria. Her tail wiggled in sheer happiness against her waist uncontrollably as she paced ahead of the group towards the line of students waiting for meals. It was getting harder and harder to contain both of her faunus appendages for as long as she had been for she never tended to keep either restrained for more than a few hours for food hunting. "Wow, guys! Do you see how good that looks? There is no way I'm waiting to get into this! It makes my problems in this school feel so much more bearable."

She grinned in a fervent manner before pacing up to the back of the line that was steadily moving forth while raising up and down such as a child on her tiptoes to see over the line. Students patiently waited as they selected their choices of foods and situated them upon their trays. Nobody seemed to be focused on anything more than beside getting something in their stomachs from having eaten nothing since the airship ride to Beacon Academy, while Jaune and Weiss merely watched from afar. Nevertheless, though, icy blue irises softened subtly as the heiress gazed in amusement at the brunette advancing with the line in excitement, occasionally picking her choice of meals with little worry. It was the first time since she had met the brunette that she noticed a genuine sense of bliss and friendliness from the girl as other occasions it felt forced and constantly uptight. The sight was undoubtedly relaxing, such as watching her favorite orchestra strike up a successful new style that just fit.

An absentminded smile found its way to her lips as the more serene memories of her home created a warm yet aching feeling in her chest. Even moments such as revisiting old memories had their end, and the soft feeling of something jabbing at her upper arm quickly snatched her from her thoughts. The pestering feeling got stronger as well as her level of annoyance with it. She spent a few more minutes trying to ignore it and finally glanced down in attempts to regain her composure, proceeding then to look up at the owner of the hand in agitation. She met Jaunes smile and only become more ticked off in result yet

"That's a bit of a shocker right? Heh. I uh, never thought Ruby would be the type of person to abandon her friends for some food. I just guess that's more information for next time right?" She scowled immensely at the attempt of humor from the scrawny boy before she redirected her attention elsewhere when suddenly he speaks up again, much to her displeasure. "Well, what I'm trying to say honestly is I don't think we should let Ruby be the only one doing things. So, do you maybe want to pick out a table with me for the three of us before they're all taken? Seat wise I mean…"

Jaune offered his most confident appearance with his hand placed on his chest as he noticed the heiress momentarily paying attention to him. However, he shortly after deflated as she grumbled and curtly redirected her head. "I'm afraid I will have to reject that very kind offer for doing more movement than necessary and join Ruby to get our meals since I am quite famished." Jaune felt his shoulders droop gradually in dejection as he forced out an understanding laugh when trying to brush off the rejection. It wasn't as if he had a reason to let her see how much of a turn down it was to him when she clearly didn't care enough for his presence. "Do carry on with your table searching though anyways, Jaune. It shouldn't be too much of a challenge alone." The heiress paused and spared a glance to her side where Jaune silently stood before she sighed and trudged off towards the brunette's direction with interest towards an odd object poking from Ruby's waist.

Meanwhile, as the brunette slid down her tray impatiently towards the next selection of second-course meals, she greedily scooped up a few helpings of mashed potatoes with a toothy smile. The fresh scent baked potatoes were almost enough to make the brunette want to drool in astonishment and content as she had nearly forgotten about her personal issues. That is until an instant later, the scent of someone familiar caught her attention and sent a chill down her spine as she abruptly came to a halt. Students behind her griped and grumbled almost immediately when the line got held up by the brunette who seemed stumped. The scent intermingled with the fresh scent of food and yet was still incredibly easy to decipher who had caught her attention. It was the Raven again, who's scent smelled as odd as that of a wet dog.

Ruby impulsively flared her nostrils at the smell before skeptically redirecting her attention up from her tray and over to the nearest double doors. There stood confidently was the blonde raven, accompanied by a dark haired female who tightly clutched a black bag to her chest as she followed the oddly excited blonde without hesitancy. Their voices carried through the room as they bickered as if nothing was out of the ordinary, earning an odd expression from Ruby as she wasn't entirely sure how to react to the side of Yang she was seeing. "What in the good gavy.." She had never once seen the Raven as energetic as she had been and it stirred question from the faunus. _Hm. No doubt is that a questionable transition of occurrences, seeing as not since we were young did she act out of character. It's an interesting turn of the game, meaning I might have to be more cautious._

Scowling immensely at the implication of both trouble and oddity of her situation, she accidentally bit down onto her lip. The taste of metallic iron almost sent her further into her trance until the grumbling from behind stirred her from her own thoughts. She felt a tinge of warmth surface to her cheeks as she turned partially and apologized before treading forth. Her sense of moral peace, however, hadn't lasted long as before she knew it, grunts and complaints shifted from her to a certain white-haired student. This caught her attention as if she was a bug closing in on a light and she shifted until she was met with those piercing blue eyes. _Weiss, crap, I forgot about her._

With each precise step towards the end of the line where the faunus stood, Weiss's demeanor of curiosity grew more fervent for even someone such as she couldn't resist solving the mysterious atmosphere of the faunus. "I must agree with what you uttered seconds ago seeing as your sense of proportion is not but a speck of dust. Why in all of Remnant did you shove all of that food onto your plate? You make it seem as if you've not eaten in years."

Slowing her stride down to a complete halt beside the faunus, created another intense atmosphere between the duo as Ruby forced a smile. "I guess I didn't realize I was speaking out loud, but you learn new things everyday huh?" The weak joke earned a confused expression from the heiress as she furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Yeah, I should just stick to not making jokes. I'll keep that in mind next time, but to answer your question. Ma always told me as a child that to grow big and stronger you've gotta keep an uh…" Ruby paused immediately as her eyes strayed down to the tray piled with all sorts of sweets and meat before uttering. "Healthy, but you know, in my eyes, sweets can be good for you too, so I'm doing what is needed to grow."

Scuffing the heel of her foot against the marble floor, she shuffled out of the line, allowing other students to pass while the heiress seemed to be questioning her morals. Her knuckles almost appeared to be turning pale from how tightly she clenched the tray as the duo treaded past scattered groups. Eyes from every corner of the room seemed to be fixated on the duo as they walked in silence, contemplating their choice of words until eventually, the heiress spoke up. "An interesting conclusion no doubt, albeit, though, perhaps you could carry on with telling me that of your… Scythe." Weiss uttered the last word of her sentence with a slight scoff as she herself wasn't as fond as she acted of the choice of weapon.

Neither seemed to want to continue their conversations as the rhythmic sound of their shoes against the marble, left them both feeling on edge with the other. It was as if that of a drum pounding vigorously to the beat of a song as both also wanted information on the other. The brunette felt her confidence slipping away as she restrained herself from getting too excited about her scythe. "Crescent Rose isn't that special to most eyes, but to me, she is the part that matters most about a person. My mot- my mother frame is pretty complex though."

Ruby felt her tray dig into the side of her hip as her shoulders lowered down, the peering eyes of her companion burning into her skull. She could have sworn the heiress was going to judge her for the minor slip up but was met with an odd surprise. Forming from the corner of her lips, the heiress offered her best impression of a friendly but competitive smirk to lighten the darkened mood. "Well, I must say, the weapon most certainly does seem to have some intriguing quirks about it. Hopefully, if we do meet again after today and initiation, you could show me in a sparring match just how complex it truly is."

Her once perpetual gaze softened substantially when the look in the brunette's eyes seemed to intensify. "After all, a Schnee must always be in top shape, and if you're as intriguing as you claimed your weapon to be, then it'll be another challenge I'd enjoy taking eventually." Fighting back the urge to physically shudder in response to the heiress, Ruby forced herself to swallow down the bile lump forming in her throat before speaking.

"I appreciate the suggestion but I, well, I don't know if sparring would be a good idea for me. I don't really feel too comfortable showing off in front of others, especially after the two of us just recently met. All I did was help you with your stupid du-" Silence intervened between the pair as a warning glare was shot in the brunette's direction, resulting in her concluding her response quicker. "What I meant to say is we'll have to see." Ruby felt as her ears pinned firmer against her head as she slugged towards the table where Jaune sat.

His eyes seemed to wander aimlessly for a couple of minutes before locking unintentionally with the gaze of both females. His expression shifted into a small but content smile and wave as he spoke up. "There you guys are! I was beginning to think that you two ditched me for someone more interesting." His chuckle came out awkwardly as he watched the pair get situated in front of him on the bench before resuming. "But you're both here now, so everything went fine yeah?" His gaze shifted from one to the other as he noticed both seeming to not acknowledge each other, including him. That, albeit depressing, wasn't as shocking too much.

Jaune kept a patient demeanor with the two as he hoped that one of the girls would strike a conversation, but when realizing both girls will to remain silent was unwavering, he spoke up with dejection. "Er, well, I guess there's no helping it for this. But I should mention to you Ruby, that a girl claiming to be your sister stopped by asking for you. I'm not sure how she knew I was involved with your or anything, but she's down the table from us right now; just staring at us."

Jaune lowered his shoulders significantly as their eyes shifted from their area to where he pointed, only to notice the Raven peering intently with her trademark smile. "Good to see you getting along with all the other students, Ruby! I've noticed your name spreading through the school already though, so be a little more considerate to the rest of us popular kids!" Both Weiss and Ruby scowled in sync with each other as they heard the boisterous blonde shout from across the end of the table. Neither seemed to be excited by the blonde's presence any more than the other, but both quickly returned to their neutral expressions.

Glancing back towards the Raven only left a feeling of incompetence as golden eyes seemed to bore into that of her own eyes. Bristling from beneath her clothing only served to keep her demeanor neutral, reminding her of her status in the school in which she needed to keep a clean slate. Fighting the rise of hair along her tail, the brunette watched as the two females stood up and began to walk towards the group on the opposing side. Still sitting, the faunus had to look up at her sister and the other girl as they finally stopped at the trio.

The brunette felt the tension in the air thicken as smug looks were given around the table as they sat down. Her urge to grimace only seemed to intensify as she forced herself to greet the blonde with warmth to her voice. "Hey sis," She muttered before continuing slower than before, contemplating each choice of word to fool the others. "Good to see you again. I was just about to go looking for you after I had my meal but, it seems like you've also made a friend. I'd hate to interrupt your time together, but I think after this we should really start heading back to the dorms. I'm tired."

Putting her hand on her side as she looked down at Ruby with a scowl, Yang spoke up. "Maybe if people wouldn't go around hitting others with their luggage, you wouldn't have to come searching for me in the first place." With a glance at the heiress, Yang shifted and discreetly glared at her younger sibling's new companion. "And as your older sister, I honestly worry about who you pick to be around." With the comment, the heiress began to bristle in her seat next to Ruby. Meanwhile, Jaune just seemed to sink into his seat further, attempting to hide as the awkward exchange between the females began to grow more hostile.

Resent remained everlasting in between stares as the agitation of the heiress, and the uproar of her sibling seemed to leave Ruby feeling uncomfortable. Her head seemed to throb at the sources of trouble painfully as she sucked in a deep breath, and regained control of the madness. Pain flooded through her arms as before she knew it; she had slammed her palms into the cold surface of the table, succeeding in gathering the attention of everyone. "Yang," She whispered in a low tone, putting stress on her sibling's name before inhaling again and resuming. "Don't be rude to people. You do not know when you need their kindness, and that is not the way we were raised, so please stop." The Raven's face seemed taken aback as she heard her younger sister stand up for the heiress.

Confliction flashed briefly in both eyes of the Raven as she felt the gaze of her sibling bare an intensified feeling of control. Yang wanted to remain to hold her ground firmly, but the other faunus had no interest in such arguments and instead redirected her attention to Jaune and Weiss. This all had left the Raven feeling bewildered as she sneered and retracted away from the table, speaking up grudgingly. "Fine, I'll admit that I stepped out of line and it was wrong of me. I'm sorry about that." Hushed whispers of other students flooded the air once more as the hostility died out and both Yang and her friend sat down at the table. Ruby herself, albeit, silent now, felt somewhat off as she knew that a smile couldn't take back what was already said.

Yang searched for recognition in the heiress's eyes, which seemed to be glazed over from zoning out of the conversation at hand. Gently shaking her head before looking down at the table, Weiss seemed to return to the reality which unfolded in front of her. Raising from her seat, confusion between the group emerged as the heiress gently grabbed what she bought for lunch. Peering at Ruby, the white haired woman's demeanor had shifted. "I do not wish to be pulled into another big scene, so I'm going to finish my lunch waiting at the airships. I have another shipment of dust I need to tend to. I never had a chance to say, but.." The heiress's irises seemed to grow more sincere alongside her pause. "I had a decent time after the dust incident." After turning away from the group, the graceful heiress left the room. Ruby's gray eyes seemed to dullen as she watched Weiss walk away, immediately missing the presence of the girl beside her.

It left her feeling bewildered, but there were bigger fish to roast and understand than figuring out a meager and simple feeling.

* * *

 **There you have it guys, chapter 4 of TRAS. I had to keep it short and small because I accidentally did the final draft instead of my normal. Next chapter I will be sure to keep at least 5,000 to make up for this but if I can't always, don't hold it against me. If it also felt any bit rushed just brush it aside** because **next chapter; are you ready for the pump? We get into some exciting business! It's what makes TRAS, well, TRAS. I'll be bringing back some funny scenes soon as well so expect to get a couple of laughs and tears here and there.**

 **This chapter if I were actually situated, I'd list some friend and** foe **quotes, but I'll leave that to the hand of my readers this time entirely. If you have a quote, you fancy in this area, pm it to me or leave a review and I'll be sure to add it and give credit!**

 **For now, This author note brings chapter 4 of TRAS to a conclusion, and as always. I hope everyone has a good night, and good day!**

 **-Pure out**


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